The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #7876   Message #3798195
Posted By: cnd
28-Jun-16 - 08:56 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Old Zip Coon
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Zip Coon
I'm going to side with Joe here; there's nothing racist about the song itself. The name may have the word "coon," but the song isn't racist. It's important to know the history. The song's name is credited with possibly helping give rise to the term "coon" in its pejorative context because it was originally performed as a blackface act. But if it's performed in a normal, not-blackface way, then it's not racist. Think about songs like Camptown Races or My Old Kentucky Home which were originally blackface songs but have since become common stock for folk musicians. Even though the name is possibly creditable to helping make the term coon racist, I don't think the song itself is racist; its original usage was.